News - Hanson Stands Firm Against 15% GST Hike Proposal

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has strongly opposed the proposed increase of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Australia from its current 10 percent to 15 percent. Her remarks came in response to an expression of support for this hike from Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn, who voiced his approval for a higher GST rate during an interview with ABC radio on August 13. The GST, a tax imposed on the majority of goods and services sold within Australia, has been in place since its introduction in 2000. While its role in generating revenue for the government is significant, the suggested increase has sparked a debate on its potential socioeconomic impact. Highlighting the current economic climate, Hanson emphatically argued that a higher GST would unfairly burden Australians who are already feeling the pinch of a growing cost-of-living crisis. "Only someone completely insulated from the cost-of-living crisis could think Australians should pay even more for everyday essentials and the materials that build homes," she stated. Moreover, Hanson criticized the idea of further taxation under the current government’s remit, particularly calling out Treasurer Jim Chalmers: "The last thing our country needs is Jim Chalmers reaching even deeper into the pockets of working Australians," she declared in a separate statement. This discourse follows recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which earlier this year suggested that Australia should consider raising the GST rate by 2026. However, in response to these suggestions, Treasurer Jim Chalmers clarified that such changes are not under consideration by the Labor government. “We’ve made that clear on other occasions and as I said before in these IMF reports, often there are some ideas which are consistent with the government’s direction and some which are not,” Chalmers noted. The Treasurer reaffirmed, “We’ve made it clear that we don’t intend to go down that path when it comes to the GST,” reinforcing the government’s current stance on not increasing the tax rate, despite external recommendations.